With an undefeated NCL Blue Division championship on the line, as well as a Division III, Region 9 playoff berth, NDCL battered visiting Lake Catholic, 21-0, in front of a packed house at Lion Stadium.

With the win, NDCL (8-2, 5-0) caps an eight-game winning streak to end the regular season, and will head into Week 11 with a home game in the first round of the playoffs. Lake Catholic (6-4, 4-1), meanwhile, had its chance at a league title and a playoff berth evaporate with the crushing loss.

"We knew three years ago when we played eight sophomores we were going to take some lumps," Morgan said. "Now look at them, they're seniors and they're champions."

NDCL dominated both sides of the ball. With the combination of quarterback Robbie Nash (12-for-20, 159 yards) throwing the ball and Nick Evans (31 carries, 101 yards) running the ball, the Lions kept the Cougars' defense off balance, a defense that notched shutouts in the past three weeks.

NDCL's defense shut down Lake Catholic's vaunted running attack, on 144 yards -- many coming late in the game with NDCL in control of the game.

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the NDCL players celebrated wildly on the field and then sprinted to the sidelines to share their joy with their massive student section.

"We respect Coach Bell and the Cougars," said Nash. "But everybody knows we don't like them and they don't like us. It's great to beat them. We really wanted to win this one."

Lake Catholic coach Mike Bell tipped his hat to the Lions afterward and projected good things for the Lions in the playoffs.

"You get into the playoffs and look at our region. The sky's the limit (for NDCL)," Bell said. "Anything can happen."

Like it did in a sheeting rain on Friday night.

After the teams traded missed field goals to start the game, NDCL got on the board on an 11-yard touchdown run by Evans late in the first quarter. Lake Catholic went three-and-out on its next possession, and NDCL capitalized on a 10-play scoring drive that ended in a four-yard sweep to the right for Evans midway through the second period.

It was all the offense NDCL really needed, a two-score lead over a Lake Catholic offense that was struggling to throw the ball.

NDCL had up to 11 players in the box for most of the game to take away the Cougars' running game. Many times, NDCL's last line of defense, the safeties, were closer to the line of scrimmage (six yards) than Lake Catholic's running back and quarterback.

"We're gonna play man, and we're gonna put people in the box," Morgan said. "You're gonna have to knock us out of the box."

Lake Catholic wasn't able to do that. Baniewicz had 104 yards rushing on 26 carries. He was 1-for-9 passing for 13 yards.

"We took some shots in the passing game early, and it just wasn't working for us," Bell said. "We were doing the things (i.e. running the ball) that got us here, got us back to 6-3 in the first place. We just weren't successful tonight."

With Lake Catholic working for some late-game magic, Carl Blatnik intercepted Baniewicz. Five plays later, Nash hit Tim Helton for a 22-yard touchdown pass that iced the game -- if it hadn't been iced already.

"We come into every game knowing our defense is the strongest aspect of our team," said Helton of Blatnik's interception and his team's pair of takeaways. "We take pride in that."

As his dejected team exited the field, Bell praised the Cougars and their ability to fight through the adversity of numerous injuries throughout the season that helped pave the way for a 1-3 start.

Morgan lauded his team for responding after its 0-2 start, albeit to South and Chagrin Falls, and for clinching the league championship and home playoff game.

"We were pretty stoked up to play this game," Morgan said. "We knew what was at stake."

As did the players, who had waited three years to atone for the ghosts of a sophomore season that needed exorcised.

"It feels amazing," out-of-breath Helton said. "Especially for us seniors. Beating Lake Catholic at home -- we've never beaten them on varsity -- and beating them our senior year was something special."